


Approbation

by Thoughtyouknewr



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alpha Lance (Voltron), Alpha Shiro (Voltron), Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Beta Hunk (Voltron), Beta Pidge | Katie Holt, But the drugs are suppressants, Don't fuck with Keith, Fluff, Gen, Hints of Sheith and Klance, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Keith is absolutely Savage, Keith is no one's damsel, Lance is more than aware of this, Mostly Team as Family, Not from Voltron, Omega Keith (Voltron), Protective Lance (Voltron), Protective Shiro (Voltron), Sassy AF Keith, Sexist behavior, Trope typical sexism, Voltron team as a Pack, suppressants
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-09
Updated: 2019-02-09
Packaged: 2019-10-25 06:51:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17720243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thoughtyouknewr/pseuds/Thoughtyouknewr
Summary: It has been a long time since Keith felt at home. Maybe never. Safety and comfort are like a foggy dream that he once had of his alpha father's strong arms around him and the sharp scent of pine that seemed to follow him everywhere.Perhaps that's why he started on the suppressants. How could he let himself be so vulnerable around so many uncertainties? And once he started, well. There wasn't any time to come back from that. Nor anyplace safe enough.Until an alien castle and the feel of a pack at his back make him wonder what it might be like. To live as an omega. Something he's never thought he would be allowed. And it's entirely possible that he's beginning to consider it.But it is his decision to make, and his alone. So when an alien alpha corners him on his way to procure more suppressants, Keith is having none of that nonsense.





	Approbation

**Author's Note:**

> For an a/b/o prompt list I found. This is number 1: “Why are you resisting your nature?” Not sure if I'll continue to write others.

It was just Keith’s luck that he ran out of suppressants on a planet that not only had alpha/beta/omega dynamics, but also had a distinctly Earth-like attitude towards omegas. It was actually much rarer than Keith had expected that planets had a triple secondary gender system like Earth did, and even more unusual that they treated omegas like they were treated on Earth. 

Keith had actually thought that this planet’s similarities may be his saving grace when he’d first landed. He was running out of suppressants fast and had no way of replenishing them. He’d thought maybe he’d be able to sneak away for a bit and find someone to sell him the pills underneath the table. Suppressants were illegal here, of course, but that was par for the course and Keith had already dealt with that on Earth. 

Keith’s plan got off to a rocky start. It was hard to find an opening to slip away. The H’aliburn kept a very close watch on their guests, and Keith had a very difficult time even getting a moment alone, let alone leaving explicitly sanctioned areas. 

It had taken him much longer than he’d hoped to get away. In fact, he’d had to make his own opening by pretending to be sick. Well, pretending might be a bit of a strong word. The mission had taken longer than it was supposed to, and Keith was out of suppressants. He certainly wasn’t feeling his best as he began to come off of them for the first time in five years. 

He’d gone out through the window and snuck into the town surrounding the palace. Luckily, the H’aliburn strongly resembled humans (one of the reasons Keith hoped their suppressants would be compatible) so it wasn’t hard to blend in. 

Much as it might seem hopeless to try to find underground drugs on a strange planet with a different culture, this was not Keith’s first rodeo. He’d already had to replenish his stock three times, and each time he’d gone about it exactly the same way as he had on Earth with just the same results. Cities were cities no matter where they were built, apparently. 

Despite his confidence that he could find what he was looking for, Keith was very tense. He very well knew the dangers of wandering out smelling like an omega with no alphas or betas present for protection. Keith could more than take care of himself, but making a big scene would draw way too much unwanted attention. The goal was to _not_ let everyone know he was an omega. 

He used copious amounts of scent blockers, but they’d never been very effective for Keith. He could do nothing more than pad his scent glands and hope. 

Unfortunately, luck was not with Keith that day. He’d never expected it to last forever anyway. It was pushing it that he’d gotten away with this three times already. But what other choice did he have?

“Hey there, little one,” an alpha purred, catching Keith’s wrist as he walked by. 

“Not. interested,” Keith snarled in response, trying to yank back. 

The grip was too tight, however, and the alpha pulled back while Keith was off balance, resulting in Keith stumbling several steps closer instead of further away. 

“Aw now, don’t be like that baby,” the alpha teased. His voice was oozing sleaze, and Keith felt gross just by being on the receiving end of that tone. 

“I said,” Keith replied, “ _not interested_. Fuck off.” He pulled again, this time twisting his wrist in a way that made it impossible for the alpha to keep his hold. 

“Feisty,” the alpha said, catching Keith’s collar as he tried to make his escape. Keith instantly fought a whimper. That was a goddamn dirty trick! It was also as frowned upon here as it was on Earth. They were already starting to draw attention from concerned bystanders. “I like it.”

“It’s not for you,” Keith growled

“Not for anyone in particular at the moment, from what I can smell,” the alpha said. “It could be for me.”

“It couldn’t,” Keith said insistently, “because I’m not interested. And even if I was, you’re too late. I’m taken.” 

He was bullshitting, but his instincts were strong enough to momentarily stop him from fighting once he’d been collared. He just needed a few seconds to regain himself before he knocked this knothead on his ass. 

The alpha flat out laughed. “I think not, sweetheart,” he chuckled. “No alpha worth his knot would let you out without some kind of claim. Not looking the way you do.”

“Like a really annoyed person?” Keith asked. “That usually tends to drive away people on its own, thanks.”

“Nah, like an omega bitch just begging for some alpha to come put you in your place,” the alpha replied. His tone was still that same calm sleaze, like he hadn’t just reduced Keith down to his sex and furthermore equated that with _just_ sex. 

The rush of fury gave Keith the needed nudge to elbow backwards into the alpha’s sternum hard enough to wind him. The he kicked out the alpha’s knees, glorying in the heavy thump the big man made hitting the ground. 

“Who’s the bitch now?” Keith asked, leaning over the downed alpha and nudging him with a disdainful toe. “My place is wherever the fuck I decide it is,” he snarled. “And it will never be anywhere near you.”

He got half way across the street this time (stunned people parting to let him through; they’d likely never seen an omega act like that) before a hand clamped down hard on his neck. Being collared was bad enough, but it was disgustingly invasive to grab a strange omega’s neck. Worse even than grabbing his ass would’ve been, because that was just about sex; this demanded submission. 

Keith couldn’t help but stop dead. It took everything in him to keep his knees from buckling as well. His breath quickened in panic and his hands balled into fists. 

“That’s a little better,” creepy alpha purred. Keith couldn’t believe that even now, no one else was stepping in. “A little fire is good, but you’ve gotta know when to cool off a bit, baby.” He watched Keith fight for a few more seconds with amusement written all over his face. “Why are you resisting your nature, Omega? Don’t you know how good I could make it if you just let me?”

“Nothing about this situation involves me letting you do anything!” Keith yelled, anger again helping him push passed the instincts whispering that he should just submit like a good boy. “That implies that I actually wanted any contact with you in the first place. And I told you, I’m taken.”

“By who?” the alpha demanded scornfully. “Some knotless beta jacked up on alpha pheromones? You have no idea how good it could be, baby.”

“By _me_ ,” a new voice interrupted, icy and deeper than Keith had ever heard it. His head snapped over to Lance, approaching at a fast pace with a guard following him. 

God, no. Literally anyone else would’ve been better. Lance already thought he was better than Keith. What would he think now?

Still, Keith would gladly play along. Anything to get away from this alpha. 

“And if you know what’s good for you, you’ll take your hands off of my omega,” lance continued, his gaze fixed on the alpha still holding Keith. There was no shock or hidden glee at Keith’s status in his face. He was all cold fury and determination. 

“He’s not claimed,” said alpha argued. “You have nothing to prove he’s yours.” Still, his hand loosened on Keith’s neck. 

“It tends to be a bit of a hinderance when we’re in the middle of war,” Lance dismissed. “It doesn’t make him any less mine. Keith, **come here**.”

Keith had never been more eager to follow an alpha’s command. Rude as it was that Lance had used his **voice** , it was somewhat understandable. In an ideal world, alphas would never add that extra bit of dominance that urged omegas to obey. This was far from the ideal situation, and that tiny variance in tone gave Keith what he needed to fight off the artificial submission the other alpha was pressing on him. Lance was safe. The alpha who had been hassling him definitely wasn’t. 

Lance’s slightly smaller hand locked around his neck where the other alpha had been holding before. This time Keith had no chance and immediately fell to his knees. It was hard enough to resist when the alpha holding him was a threat; he was incapable when he felt marginally safe. 

“None of that now, Cariño,” Lance cooed soothingly. “Not on these stones, especially. Up you come.”

“Our sincerest apologies,” the guard who’d come with Lance said as Keith shakily got back up. He found himself leaned up against Lance’s chest, face hidden in the alpha’s neck while Lance’s arm held him securely around the waist. “We would never have let him wander off on his own if we were aware-“

“Are you in the habit of allowing your citizens to treat unaccompanied omegas like this, then?” Lance questioned, his tone deceptively calm. “I’m sure Allura would be most interested to hear that.”

He ran his fingers through Keith’s hair soothingly as he spoke. It was nothing like what Keith had expected of the alpha. He’d thought Lance would leave him on his knees until he dragged Keith off, not treat him so gently. His head spun a little in the confusion, helped along by Lance’s pheromones. 

“You should at least collar him,” the alpha who’d accosted Keith grumbled. “Nothing to tell he had an alpha.”

“I believe _he_ told you,” Lance snarled coldly at the same time as Keith twisted around to assert, “ _I_ told you!”

“Yeah, but omegas say that all the time when it’s a lie,” the alpha dismissed, obviously speaking to Lance and ignoring Keith. “It doesn’t mean anything.”

“It means that they’re not interested, whether they’re telling the truth or not,” Lance barked. “That should be enough.”

“It is, of course,” the guard agreed, obviously trying to sooth Lance’s growing ire. “And this issue will be addressed in front of the court. But perhaps we should return to the group. They are no doubt wondering why we are taking so long.”

Lance gave a short, assenting nod. “Do you want me to carry you?” he asked quietly in Keith’s ear, eyes never leaving creepy alpha even as his head bent to speak to Keith. 

Keith took a deep breath. He couldn’t deny that it was tempting. No alpha had ever taken this much care with him, and it was so nice. He wasn’t quiet ready to give it up yet. But, “No.” He would walk out of here with his head held high. 

“Ok,” Lance agreed instantly, loosening his arm to let Keith pull away. He left one hand steady on Keith’s lower back, though. Keith didn’t mind. He’d had quiet enough of people thinking he was unclaimed for one day. 

Their walk back to the group was tense. Lance was so careful with Keith, occasionally nuzzling his hair comfortingly and always ensuring that he was alright. The guard, on the other hand, got a very cold shoulder. Lance was furious, but made sure Keith knew it wasn’t directed at him. 

“Lance!” Hunk called as they approached the rest of the paladins.

“Took you long enough,” Pidge complained. “How long can it take to find some facial cream?”

“My apologies,” Lance’s guard said again. “We ran into the omega of your group who decided to wander around quite unwisely without a claim.”

He was obviously trying to shift the blame of this incident to Keith. It didn’t work. 

While confusion clouded Pidge and Hunk’s faces, Lance’s enraged snarl was almost drowned out by Shiro’s possessive, “He’s _mine_. There will be hell to pay if he was hurt.”

The guard hesitated, frowning slightly as he glanced back at Lance. 

“I’ve already informed him of the consequences of this little incident with _our_ omega,” Lance said, and wow, Keith had no idea Lance could lie so well. Lance lightly directed Keith over to Shiro. 

Keith went readily and latched on to their pack alpha. Shiro held him just as firmly as Keith clutched at him. 

Shiro and Lance locked eyes over his head and Lance nodded. 

“I thought you weren’t feeling well, sweetheart?” Shiro murmured to him. 

Keith shrugged. “I started feeling better,” he said, which was a down right lie at this point. He felt nauseous and exhausted. His head ached and swam with the influx of scents around him. 

“I think not anymore,” Shiro replied, as in tune to his team as always. 

Keith buried his face deeper in Shiro’s chest, which was answer enough. 

“Can you take Keith back to the castle?” Shiro asked, looking at Hunk and Pidge. They looked stunned and caught out as their pack alpha explained, “Lance and I need to talk to Allura about this.”

“Of course,” Pidge said, recovering herself. “We can totally handle that, right Hunk?” She nudged the bigger beta.

“Yep, sure!” Hunk yelped. “We can get omega Keith back.”

Keith mentally sighed. He hoped Hunk wouldn’t go on about this like he had about Galra Keith. The man seemed incapable of grasping that Keith had always been who he was, and learning new information about him didn’t change that he’d always been that way. 

“Are you ok to go with them?” Shiro asked Keith gently. “Lance or I could come to get you settled first, if you want.”

“No,” Keith said. “I’m good. I can go with Hunk and Pidge.” He didn’t need anyone, but he supposed it would be nice to have the company. He didn’t want to be assaulted again. 

“That’s my good boy,” Shiro praised quietly. "We’ll be back soon. Try to sleep a little.”

Keith nodded, but doubted he’d be given the chance. The others would have questions, after all. 

Hunk carefully took his hand and pulled him a little away from Shiro. Keith followed easily enough, especially when Pidge came up on his other side to take his other hand. He didn’t need them to treat him differently, but this was supportive, not controlling. Their touches were too light to be claiming, and they let him lead rather than pulling him behind them. It was the same way he'd seem them interact with each other. It offered at least a little bit of acceptance. 

No one dared to approach him on the way back, and the guards left them in the hall they’d been assigned. 

To Keith’s everlasting surprise, neither Hunk nor Pidge besieged him with questions as soon as they were alone. Instead, they took him to the room he’d been assigned, and they all curled up together in the makeshift nest Keith had made in his bed. Hunk rubbed his belly softly and Pidge pet his hair until all three of them dropped off. 

***

“Rise and shine!” Lance cried as he poked at the nest. “We’re leaving! I’ve already got your stuff, Hunk, Pidge. Just need all of you and we’re off!”

“What?” Keith asked blearily. “I thought Allura still had a few quintant’s worth of negotiating to do.”

“Yeah, see, she _did_ until she heard what happened. You should’ve seen her! The Emperor was all like, ‘Our sincerest apologies, but he should’ve at least been wearing a collar,’ and I think Shiro would’ve punched him except Allura was all, ‘I see. Well, I think that this concludes our business here.’ And the Emperor was like, ‘ Our negotiations are not finished.’ And Allura said, ‘They most certainly are. I refuse to ally Voltron with a planet that deems it appropriate to assault certain members of its own species over a matter so small as biology. Voltron is withdrawing our offer of support on moral grounds.’ Then she flounced out before he could even respond. It was great! She was fantastic!”

Hunk and Pidge cheered quietly as they got up and stretched. 

Keith blinked for a second, processing Lance’s rambling. “She didn’t need to do that,” he protested as he grasped what Lance had said. “I don’t want to be the reason Voltron looses allies!”

“I most certainly did,” Allura herself sniffed as she entered the room. “Not even the Galra insist that a certain portion of their own population wear collars just so no one will attack them on the streets. This is unacceptable.”

“It’s nothing worse than I’d get on Earth,” Keith said. “Really, it was fine.” He grabbed the bag he hadn’t bother to unpack. 

The other paladins grumbled angrily and fell in around him as they left the room. It wasn’t untrue, but they all wished it was. 

Allura looked horrified. “Things like this are condoned on Earth?” she questioned. “I never would’ve expected it from how all of you interact.”

Keith could agree with that as Lance snarled at an alpha who passed too close. Shiro slipped an arm around Keith’s waist and glared. Hunk and Pidge shot the alpha dirty looks. The poor man backed off real fast. 

“Unfortunately, not all of Earth has caught up to this century yet,” Shiro grumbled without removing his arm. “Omegas now theoretically have the same rights as alphas and betas. You can’t stop them from doing anything just because they’re omegas. That doesn’t mean they’re treated the same.”

“If Keith went to the police with an incident like this on Earth, they’d be just as likely to tell him he should’ve been wearing a collar and go lightly on the alpha. The incident may even be swept under the rug. Keith would be lucky if the alpha was punished at all for it,” Pidge explained.

“That doesn’t mean it’s right!” Lance declared strongly as they entered the castle. “Many of the new generation are working to change it, but many are resisting that as well. We’re getting there, sort of, but it’s taking much, much longer than it should.”

“Which is why, I guess, you decided to go on suppressants,” Shiro surmised, looking at Keith. 

Keith pulled away from the alpha and wrapped his own arms around himself. “I was only twelve when I presented,” he said quietly. “It was during the summer, thankfully. I was out in the forest exploring. I stumbled back four days later.”

Everyone gasped. Keith didn’t blame them; he had one of the worst first heat stories he had ever heard, and heard a fair few. He’d been alone, fevered out of his mind, with no defensible nest, nothing to make one with, and no resources. He’d had to fight animals and his own body to find safety and water. Food had been mostly beyond him. It had been a horrible experience. Traumatizing, even. 

“The only good thing that came out of it was that I was rolling around in Angel Trumpet, which is one of the few things that can cover natural scent. I managed to pass it off as getting lost.”

“As most of you know, I grew up in foster care. Being an omega wasn’t safe. Suppressants were the best option for me.”

“And the Garrison is mostly betas and alphas,” Pidge added. “That wouldn’t have encouraged you to stop.”

“Then we were in space, and none of us knew you as omega Keith,” Hunk finished. “So you just didn’t correct us.”

“I’m sorry about all the trouble,” Keith apologized to Allura. “I never meant to cost us an ally. We need all the help we can get against Zarkon.”

“No,” Allura denied, shaking her head. “It is true, we need aid, but not at the expense of our morals. There are some things on which we cannot compromise.”

“She’s right, Keith,” Shiro assured him. “And besides, their other demands were rather outrageous as well. I was almost to the point of trying to find a way to break the negotiations.”

“Yes,” Allure agreed. “I don’t think we were ever meant to form an alliance with them. One more comment on my own person, and I would’ve terminated discussions for my sake.”

“They thought you were an omega suppressing,” Keith said. “I heard them talking about it when I was leaving to find suppressants.”

“Did you get any before you were caught?” Lance asked suddenly. There was a tense lilt to his posture, but he seemed uncertain, like he didn’t know which outcome he was hoping for.

“No,” Keith said shortly. He knew there were problems either way. He’d been on suppressants for too long, and they would damage him if he continued for much longer. At the same time, letting his instincts free could be nearly equally damaging after never experiencing it before. They would overwhelm him. 

“Ok,” Shiro said calmly. “We can adjust. We’ll look for a replacement for you, or work with you through coming off of them. It’s your choice, Keith. This isn’t Earth. No one is going to pressure or force you into anything.”

A huge load lifted off of Keith’s shoulders. He was in for a rough road for awhile. There were no suppressants available immediately, at least, and he would have to makes changes accordingly. For the first time, it didn’t seem like a completely impossible task. 

“Thanks, you guys, I-“ He hesitated, unsure how to express his gratefulness that they weren’t treating him any differently for being an omega. 

“Group hug!” Hunk declared, already rushing at Keith. 

Keith found himself at the center of a knot of people, an omega’s typical place, and it didn’t feel constricting or intrusive. It felt like home. 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Ok y'all, so I've been out of the fandom for awhile and have a lot of catching up to do. Life is super, super crazy right now. I'm overrun. It feels really good to get this out there, though, and I hope some of you enjoy it. As always, I'd love to hear any feedback. Have a great day!


End file.
